Mohamed Salah wins BBC African Footballer of the Year 2018

1. ‘bride kidnapping’ way of life fuels child

   LEMBAR, indonesia, oct 31 (Thomson Reuters groundwork) Fifteen minutes onto their first date, Indonesian teenager Helma Yani received a marriage proposal from a boy she had just met. He spirited her away to a relative’s house and a month later, at age 17, these were married.

   Yani is among nearly 1.5 million child brides in Muslim majority indonesia, Which has the world’s eighth highest number of underage unions while using United Nations.

   the costa rica government raised the marriage age for girls from 16 to 19 in September, But rights groups fear deep rooted traditions and practicing not registering unions could hamper efforts to end the scourge.

   On Yani’s area of Lombok, The Sasak people continue a centuries old practice of “lady kidnapping, In which a woman is taken away by her husband to be before a wedding.

   Known close to you as “Merariq, Sasak elders say the kidnapping is part of an elaborate courtship ritual requiring consent from both dad and mom, But is now widely abused to warrant early marriages.

   “I didn’t get sound advice when he proposed so I said yes, pronounced Yani, Looking away shyly as she spoke in her village where youthful and chickens roam the streets. “We rode off on a motorbike from the beach to his relative’s house,

   Her parents did not know where she was for days until the village heads came to say that Yani had been taken by the boy and was preparing for marriage.

   “I was angry and raise red flags to, I cried non stop as I tried find her, Said her sister Nur Halima as she cradled Yani’s two month old baby girl.

   “She had not accomplished school, But so what can I do except let her get married? If she returns unmarried she could bring shame on us, She told the Thomson Reuters facial foundation.

   Stories like Yani’s are normal across Lombok, But activists are fighting back with an unusual approach of joining forces with village elders to restore the traditional ways of “Merariq,

   all over the world 12 million girls become child brides each year, in campaign group Girls Not Brides. They face stronger risks of exploitation, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse and death in having a baby.

   In philippines, A Southeast Asian islands of 260 million, Poverty and customs lead to one in nine girls being married before age 18, according to official how to compliment a vietnamese woman statistics.

   And the West Nusa Tenggara land, inclusive of Lombok, Ranks among Indonesia’s top 10 for child matrimony.

   Lombok’s bride kidnapping ritual dates back long time among the Sasak, An ethnic Muslim group of about 3 million who mostly live on the island east of the resort vacation Bali.

   in the past, pay outs were held between families after a Sasak man set his sights on a woman, unlike when you are bride kidnappings plaguing countries like Kyrgyzstan, Mali and as a consequence Ethiopia.

   The man would then take the woman to an agreed location to see if they were works, As relatives monitored.

   Now the ritual often results in sad tales like Yani’s an easy excuse for men to force marriage on young somewhat insecure women. Once a girl is with a suitor for the days, Parents are usually usually so desperate to avoid social stigma they agree to the union.

   during Lombok, Which sends one of a superior high numbers of Indonesians overseas as migrant workers, Some parents feel their daughters can be better handled in their absence if they marry. It also alleviates a fiscal burden.

   “It is done in the naming of tradition, So people just accept it blindly regardless if it is right or wrong, believed Faozan, Of the local non profit Village Children wellbeing Group.

   Faozan, Who individuals Indonesians uses one name, Said rampant underage marriage on Lombok has been linked to social ills between divorce to unplanned pregnancies, mother’s deaths and stunting among children.

   not necessarily, Islamic ceremonies are common. Islamic law permits such unions but as they are not formally registered women are often denied dating a vietnamese girl their rights and maintenance payments in the case of divorce.

   Yani, Who was married under Islamic law and divorced by her husband a month before she gave birth, Is struggling to get her baby a birth record as her marriage was never formally registered.

   Indonesia’s Women Empowerment and Child protection systems Ministry said in a recent statement that it planned to raise awareness through education among children, Parents and non secular leaders to end child marriage.

   It did not reply to a ask comment.

   The government has stated that raising age of marriage would save children from underage unions.

   The change came after Indonesia’s top court last year ruled in favour of a petition by women’s rights groups who argued the rule discriminated against girls, Who could marry at 16 with regards to legal age for men is 19.

   But the new law permits exceptions if parents ask the court for authorization, Raising concerns that young women could still be forced to marry in huge numbers.

   Wearing a conventional Muslim “Songkok” Prayer cap and a batik shirt, Sasak elder Muhamad Rais is among senior figures who advise residents on traditional customs in matters like birth, nuptials and death.

   Since 2016 he has worked with local charities under a pilot project to revive the “Merariq” motions, Which he said are governed by a set of complicated steps that really must be carefully followed before the “Kidnapping practice” comes together.

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